Starwood to Build "Luxe-Eco" Hotel in Washington, DC

Washington, DC, which consistently scores high in sustainability rankings for its excellent public transportation, walkability, and green space, has few accolades in the area of green building. While the majority of the nation's biggest environmental organizations are headquartered here, some of them with LEED-certified buildings, the private sector has been slow to follow their lead. But Starwood, the hotel multinational, and its partner Perseus Realty, LLC, hope to change that with plans for the city's "first green hotel" called 1 Hotel and Residences, scheduled for completion in 2010.According to DCmud, a local real estate blog, the Miami architect Chad Oppenheim has conceived three "11-story volumes connected by glass enclosed vertical gardens." That arrangement, with 177 rooms at 188,000 square feet, will serve as a "living machine" that will naturally purify the air and water in the building. The hotel will go for LEED certification and feature a spa and green roof.

The developers are also trying to curry favor with environmentalists by committing to donate one percent of the profits from the hotel to the Natural Resources Defense Council, a group that has in fact lobbied hard for green building. Apparently NRDC is also an advisor for all "1" hotel projects to set a new standard for environmental excellence and, over time, transform the entire hotel industry.

Washington, DC, which consistently scores high in sustainability rankings for its excellent public transportation, walkability, and green space, has few accolades in the area of green building. While the majority of the nation's biggest environmental